Asano Soren, an adopted member of the Inuzuka clan, and also a dedicated blacksmith. He's always been a bit on the noble side. Always tried to push the idea of respect, and being polite no matter where he was, which has gotten him in trouble as often as not. He absolutely hates people who rely on their titles, and he isn't afraid to piss people off to make a point.

~☽ Background ☾~

Soren's early years were boring. Or atleast that's how he'd describe them. Being a cousin to the prince of the land meant that he would have to one day serve as a member of the royal guard. Being the same -age- as the young prince, put him in a position to be in a high position within the royal guard to boot. Possibly even up to captain of the royal guard. But as life wore on, it quickly became apparent that Soren's talent for the clans techniques was… terrifyingly nill. His complete failure to learn even basic Ninja techniques was something that the clans thick traditions had not come accrossed before, baffling them, nearly as much as how his Twin, Shiina, had taken to the techniques! And for the 10 years, Soren was considerred a failure. Until a wanderer, by the name of Asuka came to the land of the Moon.

The wanderer, Asuka, was earning himself money by putting on a wandering puppet show. An Excellent one at that. And upon hearing this, the prince demanded he be brought to the palace, to put on a puppet show. A show that Soren had the chance to watch. The show was fantastic! No one could even see the strings! t was a smash hit in the court… until Soren approached the puppeteer just after his show. "That was Ninjutsu wasn't it?" he asked the puppeteer. No way could anyone control a puppet without strings. Not without Ninjutsu! The revelation shocked a few members of the royal guard, who quickly hustled the puppeteer out of the palace, only to find the young Soren following them to the gate. "Teach me that trick!" he yelled. And the puppeteer simply laughed, as the gates swung closed.

Over the next week, Soren made his way out of the palace, (Most of the time without permission), to search for the puppeteer, finding him every day, and begging to become the puppeteers student. None of the techniques taught to him made sense, and he wanted to learn! Oh how he wanted to be a strong ninja! And after a full week of nearly non stop begging, the Puppeteer agreed to be his teacher for a time. One year, they agreed. He could stay no longer than that. But over the course of the next month, Soren's leaps and strides in Ninja techniques took everyone by surprise. His rate of growth exploded, as he claimed 'thanks to the better explanations'. And over the next year, his growth continued to surprise everyone. Asuka had been welcomed into the court as his tutor, and generally things were looking fantastic. Soren had taken to Asuka like a duck to water, treating the benevolent puppeteer more like a long lost relative than anything. The two became extremely close. Things were looking fantastic for Soren, in the court of his clan, and the royalty. But alas, Asuka's time with him was coming to a close. A choice had to be made… and the day Asuka left, Soren snuck out in the night, following his teacher, and his friend.

"Definitely. They can't teach me anything. You can. Not only that. You're my friend. I wouldn't know what to do if you left me there with those old geezers!" Soren replied.

"Allright. Just understand… we won't be together forever. I'll teach you what I can, then you have to find your own way." Asuka replied, with a certain Finality about it.
But Soren didn't care. He was happy with that. And so the two started traveling together. Soren learned what he could from Asuka, and Asuka continued to teach where he could, including of leadership, and nobility. Not inherited leadership, or blood nobility, but the stuff you earn through your actions. Eventually they even picked up another couple of compainions! A Ninjutsu specialist from a clan of plasma users, named Hiryoku Haru, and a soon to be Medic-Nin named Chiika Ayame. The four of them came to be very close. Like their own makeshift family. Soren even came to call Haru and Ayame his brother an Sister. But alas, all good things must eventually come to a close. Asuka finally came to be convinced that Soren was ready to be on his own, and with heavy hearts, and tears all around, Soren was sent on his way.

The first thing he thought of… was to return back to the land of the Moon, the land where he once called home. He returned, and upon coming home, was arrested. He explained himself, as simply wanting to gain strength, to be able to do his job to protect the people of the kingdom.

"Protect the people? You are here to protect your KING, fool. The rabble have the worthless idiots of the town guards to protect them." The rebuttle angered Soren more than anything he had experienced. He let loose a furious verbal lashing the likes of which no King had experienced to date. "You stuck up, self righteous, ignorant prick!" he cried. "Don't you understand, a Kingdom is nothing without its people!" he yelled. The world blacked around him, as his head was struck. He eventually awoke in the forest, his Grandfather standing over him. "Leave." he was told. That was the first time Soren remembered doing as his grandfather asked without question.

~☆ Personality ☆~

Soren is very confident in himself. He always is. It's part of his charm. If he's not confident, he's panicking, or he's angry, both very dangerous things for everyone around him. He naturally tries to assume roles of leadership, beleiving that soft voice, and a big stick are the Ideal way to keep the peace in any situation. He tries to be polite, often times to a fault, but isn't above joking around to releive the tension. Brash, and somewhat impulsive, he beleives that thought and action must be tempered evenly, and is constantly weighing against himself, making him a rather unpredictable strategist. He's a firm beleiver of good vs. Evil, and beleives himself to be a champion of good, in some ways. He's always looking for ways to help people, and has centered his goals in life around the Idea that if you help someone, you will be rewarded for it in some fashion. He always tries to avoid killing, especially if it's ordered, beleiving that by sparing peoples lives, you avoid future resentment, and retribution from their loved once, possibly preventing future conflicts, although he knows it's a futile effort.

~☽ Appearance ☾~

Asano Soren is a young man, looking like he's in his late teens. His features are soft, with short, messy white hair, and pale blue eyes. His skin seems rather tanned, and his body fit, if a bit unimpressive. His Right arm has clearly been removed. The prosthetic replacement currently in it's place, however, is a work of art to those who know the craft. Crafted beautifully by what must have been a master artisan.

His clothes are are mostly consistant of a thin white sleevless vest, with a dark, sleevless shirt underneath it. He wears a wide belt, with a pair of dark grey baggy pants, fading to a deeper black towards the bottom. He also has a pair of sleeves running from his elbows to his wrists, one side extending into a fingerless glove, with a plated back. His clothes seem very well worn in, despite their fine look, and his shoes look like he's been walking in them for weeks straight, but otherwise he looks like he takes very good care of his clothing, and himself.

There's a distinct lack of Ninja equipment on his person, but he carries himself with the air of confidence beffitting someone of high station, and skill.

~☽ Personal Journal ☾~

I figure I should finally start writing in this stupid thing. Fire's going down, so I don't have much time to write. But here goes. Entry 1: I've just been kicked to the curb by my family, and my king. This sucks.

I've been forgetting to write in this thing for a while. Keep meaning to. I was told to leave the land of the moon. But considering I'm stuck on the Crescent Isle, I've been delayed on that. I managed to catch a ride on a boat back to the mainland, and from there I'll leave. I still don't know what I'm going to do. God I'm so frustrated. *Lots of scribbled out nonsense* I don't know why I'm even leaving. It's probably some combination of fear, and spite. But despite my ever worsening depression… I have to keep moving. The captain of the ship is actually a very reasonable man. I just have to work the entire trip. Unfortunately, there are stalls on the vessel. It's only a 3 day trip… but…

I now know why the previous guy quit. Never volunteer at a stable. Ever. You read me Soren? NEVER. But I had alot of time to think about some things. I've decided to adopt the name Hiryoku for my travels for a while. It outa through atleast a little dust over my tracks. If I'm gonna leave… they're not gonna find me.

It's getting hard to tell the days anymore. I've been spending a few days at each town I stop in, but it's been nearly 2 weeks since I saw a town. I knew that shortcut through the mountains wasn't a good Idea. The good news is, I ran into some bandits! And after a bout of *scribbled out* injury, they decided it would be kind to share some of their supplies with their new lord and*scribbled out* friend. God it felt good to cut loose and kick some ass. But… I find myself regretting it now that I write about my day. Asuka always tried to instill the Idea of fairness into me. Was it right that I did that? I nearly killed them. Just for supplies? This is…

So I've been wandering for a year now. Surviving… learning… considering my actions unto others… and I've been misreble for it all. I'm sorry to dump on you journal-kun, but this life… it's been…
So I need to move on. I've spent enough time mourning the loss of my families, and I need to move on. I've heard tales of the 5 great shinobi nations. I'd like to visit them. I've never met anyone from any of them before, much less been to any of them before, and apparently they use similair techniques to the royal guard! Allright! It's decided.

I finally made it to Kumogakure yesterday, and in my excitement… I decided to pick a sparring match with a Jounin. I didn't understand just how strong their Ninja were. So I am now writing this journal entry from a hospital bed. The 5 shattered ribs from the single punch I took are certainly taking their toll on me. It seems I won't be leaving for quite some time. But it gives me time to learn.

I'm finally back on my feet… and able to leave Kumogakure. Despite my rampant depression, I've actually managed to make a few aquaitances. I rather enjoyed having human contact for so long. I was warned about Kirigakure, so I will try to avoid there for now. For now, I feel like the land of earth would be a good next stop. Then the land of fire, definitely.

So I lost my journal a few months back! (I'm so sorry Journal-san) And after spending 6 months, and what must've been several thousand miles tracking it down, I finally caught up to it, and had to -re-buy- it from the peddler that thought he could pawn it off. That's what I get for writing on the back of a cart. Gotta remember to keep this thing safer. Regardless, my globe trotting adventure here, has lead me to be brought back to my original destination. Iwagakure. I'll make my way to Iwagakure over the next month or so. I'm actually going to enjoy the opportunity to take in the local culture for once.

So now I remember why I don't take in the local culture. I was quite enjoying it until I got closer to Iwagakure. At which point, I was pulled aside by an Iwagakure guard, and detained on grounds of suspicious activity. I'm 98% sure it was just a rookie looking to get his first success on the job. Regardless, I don't think I'll have much more time to write in you
journ --------------

FINALLY! I AM FREE! After nearly a month of captivity, I've been released. They couldn't actually find anything to hold me on. Granted, almost all of my supplies have gone bad, and most of my storage scrolls have been confiscated, along with the survival equipment within them… so I need to get more of those… but atleast I will be -out of here- as soon as I possibly can be. I'll be out of the country by the end of the week. And after that, I plan on spending alot of time in border countries. Taking some time to get back on my feet, before I start heading towards Konohagakure. I plan on being in Konohagakure just after the begining of the new year.

I've finally made it to Konohagakure. This place is alot more… homey… is that the word? YEah, it's alot homier than I expected. Anyways, I've been here for a grand total of three days, and it's already turning out better than expected. I've made arrangements to stay here for a while, and I've been meeting new people.
- Inuzuka, Atsuro, and Taizen: He's interesting this one is. Smooth talker, is apparently awesome with swords, and definitely waaaaaaaay better looking than his partner. That said, Atsuro seems pretty cool too.
- Uchiha, Naru: Cute girl, definitely earns some respect in my book. She could probably beat me to a pulp whenever she felt like it, but I'm glad she holds back against me. Makes it easier for me to enjoy sparring with her.
- Satonezu Ataru: He seems pretty strong. Uses a similair style to mine, just minus the swords. Chakra enhanced Taijutsu. His abilities grow frighteningly fast.

I met a girl last week. Her name is Fujiwara Ei. Kinda crushed on her for a few days, but I've realized, she's still cares for another guy. Ah well. Regardless, I've come to care for her, a bit more than I had originally thought I would, but I think it won't work out. On the same but, I dare say, I've found a lifelong friend. And a fellow traveller of the land, should we meet again. Anyways, I'm off to my training. Found a nice secluded spot just outside the walls of Konoha. I'll write again soon Journal-kun.

It's been a while Journal. I had kindof stopped writing in you for so long for several reasons. Some Jounin criminal decided I was meat, and he was the grinder. Blew my right arm clean off. I can still kind of feel it occasionally… but I know it's gone. Regardless… that was months ago, but I finally got myself back together, and got back in one piece, so to speak. Went out to Sunagakure for a couple of months, boned up on my Kugutsu style Ninjutsu, and worked with an amazing woman Uudo Kara-sama. She's a genius when it comes to anything and everything Kugutsu-no-jutsu related, and she agreed to help me on my technique! That was months ago mind you. With her help, I had my right arm replaced with a Puppetry prosthetic. I'm just now getting the fine tuned manual dexterity to be able to hold my pencil without snapping it in two. I'm so glad that Kunai are sturdier than pencils. Regardless, I now need to start studying weapon smithing, and weapon creation techniques. Try and start developing my own versions of the arm and stuff like that.

Dear journal.
This has been… truly a time of upheaval for me. Journal-kun… I've not been writing in you for quite a while… but I want to start correcting that. Anyways… returning to the matter at hand… I find myself in the midst of thought all the time. For the first time, I don't… I have no desire to return to the land of my birth. I have no desire to reclaim my position in my clan. I still miss my family… but I don't know whether or not I care enough to return to the land of the Moon. Dare I say it? I'm in love! I don't know what I'm going to do yet. I just know, I don't want to leave this girls side if I can help it. I still have to, for any of a dozen reasons. I've built my life around the freedom of my travels. I still have responsibilities outside the village of Konoha, but I find myself pushing things off to spend time with her. She's hurting my focus… even my drive, but I don't find myself caring as much as I should. Hopefully I will find balance as the relationship develops. I don't want to screw this up Journal-kun. I'll write again soon.

Well, on my way back from my latest Visit to Kara-sama, I've heard about a small village being terrorized by a Fox Spirit. I'm not entirely sure what's going on, but I'm gonna go see if I can help these people out. From what I've read, Kitsune don't just go around terrorizing people for no reason. They tend to have cause when they do something like this. I'm hoping that I can help these people figure out what they did to anger the spirit, and maybe help them reach a truce without killing it needlessly, or getting themselves killed trying. I've asked Yuzuna-chan to come along on this particular mission. This is a little so I can show off, and a little so we can take our time getting back, and really get to know each other on the way back. Either way, Journal-kun. Wish me luck!

So… how to explain this… I ended up… along with Yuzuna, ended up working with a pair of Kirigakure shinobi. Specifically Shirayuki Sakuryu, and Yoko Fuutama. I've actually… found a pair of truly close friends in them thanks to this. Anyways, between the four of us, we… worked out that the fox spirit wasn't evil, it was just protecting it's home. Anyways. This is my last journal entry before we go into the spirit plane, to help the foxes where they exist. Sounds like a genius move doesn't it? Well… I'm not going in alone. Fuuta, and Sakuryu will be coming with me. ANyways, wish us luck! I'll write as soon as we get back.

Hi jornal. I know it's been a few days but I'm finally back from the other side! It was definitely an interesting experience to say the least! We each apparently had to face a trial. Mine, I feel… strange about. It was a difficult trial to say the least, but it tested my heart. It made a few things clearer to me, but it also… made me second guess a few things about myself I suppose. Regardless, With the completion of my trial came a bit of inspiration! That combat arm I've been tryint to design for a while, I've finally gotten a bit of an IDea for how I'm going to work it and design it. It's going to take me -forever- to get the parts together to actually build it… but holy crap when it's finished. Also! I'd like to introduce you to Ayame! She's gonna be a companion for us now. She's got some stuff to take care of in the astral world first… but when she's closer to finished, I'll be able to summon her whenever I want. Cool huh journal-kun?

So I finally got in touch with Jump. I was on my way to go meet them, and talk about joining them when I bumped into an old friend of mine. Fujiwara Ei. It was slightly akward, being as our positions were reversed this time. With her being single, and me being in a relationship, but it wasn't too bad, and we even ended up traveling together. We're both headed to Jump, so it sounded like a good idea. Anyways. We're going to arrive at Jump here tommorrow, and I'm likely going to join. I really hope I don't do something stupid with Ei. I know I really like her, and I tend to wear my heart and mind on my sleeve. God I hope I don't lose my shirt tonight.

I've been back from Jump for roughly a week now… and… well… Yuzuna and I have decided to stop dating. It was… slightly… ok, more than slightly heartbreaking for me. I do still care for her, and I'm going to do whatever I can to protect her in anyway I possibly can. But… I need to leave the village for a while. Get my head on straight. I wonder if Ei is still in the area? Honestly… part of me hopes she isn't. But the rest of me really wants her to still be around. I don't really want to be alone right now.

Journal-kun! I know it's been… well… freaking forever… since I've written in you. But that's because I've been taking a few weeks to get my head on straight. Anyways… spending a few days with Ei really helped me work out a few emotions that I was having trouble with and I ended up making my own way back out onto the road again. I've come to grips with the fact that Yuzuna and I breaking up was for the best for everyone. I never really got over Ei, and on top of that, as much as Yuzu and I like each other… well… we… really don't have many things in common. Our personalities mesh fantastically… it's… the more superficial stuff that doesn't. So She and I will still be close, just… not dating. Not engaged. And I'm going to work very hard to keep it that way. Anyways! For now though, I'm heading to Kirigakure. I caught wind of a bit of news. Seems like Sakuryu-kun went and got an arm ripped off. Sound familiar? Gonna go visit her in Kiri, before I make my way out to Kumo-gakure. It's about time I got someone to teach my lightning style, you know? Anyways, talk to you when I get to Kiri!

Hey Journal-kun! Well, I got to Kirigakure finally! Got to check on Saku. Turns out she was fairly lucky. She managed to get the limb reattached. Well, regardless. I'm just glad she managed to keep herself in one piece so to speak. Anyways, Kiri's alot different from what I was expecting. It's alot more… desolate than I was expecting. I don't quite know if that's the right word… but I write this understanding the fact that if anyone from Kirigakure ever reads this, I'm likely dead meat… Kirigakure's kindof a hole, you know? It doesn't even have a decent hotspring. For a village of this size… that's… that's… sad. Atleast have some guy sitting around using firestyle on a puddle or something. I mean, come on. Geez.

Hey Journal-kun. It's been about a week since I first arrived in Kirigakure. Anyways, so you know how I've been wanting to face off with some of the best swordsman in the world right? Well, I ended up sparring against Yuuka, of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist. Yup. That's right. Even picked up a couple tricks after seeing her technique. I've gotta spend a bit more time working with her in the future. She seemed alot kinder than what I was expecting to tell you the truth. Heck, I even got to meet her daughter. Such a cute little one. It's really got me thinking. How does she do it? She's gotta have enemies. How does she keep her family safe? Probably using the resource that is living in a village of ninja. Atleast with my luck. Oh well. Thanks for listening to me rant Journal Kun, sometime's it's good to have an outlet for these kindof thoughts. Anyways. I'm gonna rest up for a few days, then I'm gonna head out to Kumogakure. I've already been here long enough, but I need a bit of time to recover. I did just face off against one of the seven swordsman, afterall. I'm still going to be out of the village before the chuunin exams start though.

So… how to explain this one. Allright, so outside the gates of Kumogakure, I bumped into Ei. She was on her way back to Konoha… and well, she was looking rather upset. So I decided to acompany her, planning to head back to Kumo as soon as possible. But as soon as we got there, Goh sent us both a message, wanting to speak with us in Kirigakure. So I went back there. He was trying to give us fair warning for the coming war. Anyways, I finish writing this as Ei-chan and I go to find a room for the night. I promised her that I would keep her safe until this war blew over. Aw crap… looks like it's about to rain. Anyways, gotta go!

Apparently… over the course of a few hours, I've royally pissed off Ei-chan, and she's had the common courtesy to return the favor. I… just want you to know Journal-kun. This blows. It really fucking blows. Anyways. I'm hoping that I can work things out with her. I don't want to ruin our relationship, whatever that is right now, over a few misplaced words. Hopefully a few days for each of us to cool off will do good for our tempers. Regardless. I'm going to be sticking with her until this war ends. Or until she can find somewhere to be safe while this mess blows over. I think it would be best for the both of us if we got out of each others hair as soon as possible.

So… Journal-kun. Ei and I have arrived at Kumogakure. And well… I'm not entirely sure what to do. I find that Ei is mostly able to care for herself, and she has a very close friend in this village that can be trusted to keep her safe. But I'm not sure how much longer she and I should stay together. I know recently she's been trying to decide between staying with Ryoji, or making either myself or Ogosokomaru her significant other… I think I'm going to suggest she choose between the other two, and then get out of her hair for a while. Maybe take a visit back to the land of the Moon? I know I've been exiled, but I can stealth in, and stealth back out without too many people noticing. I really just want to check on my sister. It's been so long since I've seen her, it's… depressing. I havn't made any decisions yet but… I'm pretty sure I'm not going to stick around here longer than I have to. It… just doesn't feel right traveling with Ei right now. Anyways. I'll write again when I feel like I've made a decision.

Hey Journal-kun. So I bumped into Itami earlier today, and I think I've made a decision. I'm gonna travel around with Itami for a while. She and I had the chance to sit down and share a meal together for the first time in ages, and she's really helped me put a few things in perpective. She's going to be in Kumo for a while, and I need to get out of the village, so I'm going to go pay Yuuka-sama a visit out in Kirigakure. But after I do that, I'm going to meet Itami back here in Kumo after a little while. I'm actually really looking forward to being able to spend that time with her, you know? No drama. No yelling. Just a couple of friends enjoying the road. Anyways, I'll talk to you later Journal-kun. I'll write you when I get to Kiri.

So… Journal-kun, sorry if my handwriting is a bit horrible, but… I'm writing with my left hand again. I got a bit curious when I saw a localized snowstorm pretty well into spring in the tropical zone known as Kirigakure. Well… I ended up meeting another of the Seven swordsman of the Mist! Bad news is, when we sparred, she heavily damaged my prosthetic arm. Took off the index finger, and ripped up the primary backplate. Damn that sword can shred stuff. She called it Samehada. Or something like that. It was a sword wrapped in bandages, but also made entirely of razor sharp shark scales. Anyways, gonna extend my stay long enough to find a place that sells scrap metal, and repair my arm a bit. Already sent word back to Itami-kun, just to let her know. Unfortunately, Yuuka-sama seems to be very busy right now, so I don't think I'll get the chance to meet her again this trip back. But atleast I'll have someone else interesting to spar with in the mean time! Anyways, talk to you later Journal-kun!

Hey Journal-kun. It's been a while. Itami and I have decided to stop traveling together (not that we really started to) but something more important has come up. I just figured I should mention that somewhere. Either way… so Ayame, Gen, and Yukihana let us know about the various Kitsune temples scattered about. Anyways, we managed to track down one, with a set of scrolls still in deep in it's recesses. Fuuta, myself, and a guy named Ishino went to check the place out, and retrieve the scrolls. One scroll for each of the three types of Kitsune summoners, right? Well, when we arrived, we arrived to find Naru, and another Konoha shinobi trying to swipe the scrolls. Well… Naru started by trying to Genjutsu everyone. Ayame paniced. I could just see how Terrifyed she was, and I got angry. Really angry. I attacked. Just when I was calming down, Naru genjutsu'ed me again, and just left. Just, this time, I couldn't resist it. She practically left me unconcious. Fuuta managed to talk her into a compromise, but the mission was a failure as far as I'm concerned. Konoha will take one scroll now, only to copy it, and we will exchange scrolls, until they have copies of all three. When I do go back to exchange the next scroll, Naru and I are going to have to have a very long, possibly violent talk.

Well, I'm back in Kiri… and I've been raging. I've been vissiting the training grounds, and just wrecking everything. I've been so angry. So… sooooooo FURIOUS. SO ANGRY. They've asked me to stop using their arena to train. They're afraid I might smash the dam next. Well, either way, I need to find a better release for my anger. I was going to try to find Aoitsuki, and see about possibly meeting her for lunch, or dinner, or something. Maybe I could get to know her a bit better. Actually, I think Ayame and I will pay her a visit right now.

Well… that… that could… that might… that just failed, horribly. Last time I go to Ayame for advice about how to approach someone. Ayame's suggestion was to pretend Ayame was injured, and try to get Aoitsuki to heal her. That was… stupid. I should've never gone along with that Idea. It was so… silly. Ah well, I managed to pull the situation out of the fire, even if just barely. So much anger, so soon after I got my head back on straight. Man, my emotions are a mess.

Well, it's time for the first swap. I arrived in Konoha 2 days ago. Seems they've not finished copying the scroll yet, so I've been wandering around only to find a group readying for a mission, who needed one more member. I had decided to join them for the mission. We were to retrieve some meteorites that had hit close to Konoha, and I met a few interesting people, like Hinotori-san, the Jounin, and Nara Satomi-chan. The girl was honestly… more clever than the jounin supposedly leading the mission. She split us up though. Ataru, Masashi-san, and I went to grab meteorites, and Hinotori and Satomi went to the village to gather information. Well… the entire mission went swimmingly. We returned by the end of the day, and Satomi and I really hit it off. I have to say, I really enjoyed her company, and will have to make time to hang with her more often.

So Journal-kun… today… today has been a long, emotionally exhausting day. I started out hanging out in the clearing in the woods. Ayame and I were taking a day for her to relax. Spirits needs some time to chill too you know. Then Satomi showed up… she and Ayame hit it off beautifully, and I got to know her a bit better. It was honestly, a fantastic thing… and when she left she kissed me on the cheek. I don't mean to sound like a sourpuss… but… honestly that was the last thing I needed on my mind. I mean, seriously. I'm in no emotional condition to even think about that kind of stuff… and… yet I find myself wanting to chase after this. Well… I'm not going to. Not right now atleast. I've been through alot in these passed few months emotionally, and I'm not willing to go through more hurt just yet. Not like this. Oh, then Naru shows up! Before Ayame and I even have a chance to get back to our nap! Ayame's scared just by the sight of Naru at this point, and that's got me in a fury, on top of this developement with Satomi, I just… bah. Well, the meeting went better than expected. Both Naru and I are still angry at each other, and we've agreed to disagree here. I don't think our friendship is going to be the same again… and strangely, I'm ok with that. I'm very ok with that.

Hey journal kun, It's me again. So earlier today I got into a bit of an akward situation. So… as I my ship was docking at the land of water main port… another ship came in. A known pirate vessel. When it docked, all the crew members except one were horrifically maimed and murdered, literally torn apart. The only survivor was this guy who was leaking tar wherever he went. I decided to follow him, simply for the sake of slaking my curiosity… and… after a few moments he was approached by someone whom I can only surmise was a Kirigakure jounin. This jounin, Webz as I call him, was being… how else to describe him but a flaming douchebag. Needlessly flamey douchebag. So I spoke up, I tried to impart a bit of wisdom, and well, he deigned to ignore it. He seemed to assume it was meant as a slight, rather than what I intended, an imparting of wisdom, and understanding. Ah well, it's not like he's gonna try to kill me or anything.

So about that jounin… well… webz decided to throw a hissy. He called me out to the genin testing grounds, and I agreed to meet him out there, hoping I could impart a bit of wisdom of how to deal with people upon him… and well, when he realized he couldn't demand respect from me, he decided to try and beat fear out of me. I'll be honest, I let him get under my skin a bit, and I could've acted better in the situation, but he was a grown as man being a brat, and throwing a temper tantrum. And he's a -jounin-? No. I cannot accept that. But alas… he did infact kick my ass. Luckily Ayame threw me into the Kitsune realm before I could suffer any permanent damage. I woke up in the medical center, apparently having been missing for 3 days. But, I'm alive, and I'll be out of here in a couple days.

Well… I got a visit from Aoitsuki today… atleast one good thing came from me getting my ass handed to me. She seemed worried for me… and I think she's going to go talk to Meruin. I tried to tell her not to, that it was my fight, my fault, and my responsibility, but she wouldn't hear it. Suddenly, I kinda feel scared for Meruin's sake. But… she and I did have a good conversation, and we even had a laugh. Honestly, it helped me to talk to someone more than I wanted to admit at the time. But for now! I ramble, and I need to get more pages for you Journal-kun.

Well… that was interesting…
I just got free from speaking with the Mizukage about the incident. Interesting man. Not at all what I had originally anticipated. Very reasonable man, very likeable, and he actually didn't completely freak out when I acted so casually around him. Maybe he'll be an individual who can understand me? I not dare hope, and yet there's a chance. Maybe Kirigakure will be a better place for me to stay than I thought?

Nevermind… so much ow…
Kira Akari, one of the seven swordsman. I met her two days after I got out of the hospital and met with Yuge-sama, and after a bit of prodding we chose to spar. Well, I did fantastically! I was actually pushing her -back-! It was a proud moment for me… and well… after I suggested we stop before things got out of hand… she called down a blast of lightning from the heavens and fried me. That was two days ago! I'm only now getting to a point where I can effectively write again thanks to the electric burns over more than half my body… It… was… an eye opener. I was only able to push her back because she was holding back. I was only able to entertain Aoitsuki because she didn't want to hurt me. Maybe I'm just not cut out for this after all? Especially when anyone I meet in these damn villages can just pop me like a blemish whenever they feel I've stopped being amusing. Looks like I've got some more thinking to do… which means lots of walking too.

So I've been walking, and thinking for a few days now… and well… I've arrived back at Konoha. Went and stopped at the sake bar, thinking that maybe some alcohol would help me clear my head, and a bit hoping that I'd run into Atsuro. Well… I ran into him, and a buddy of his. Daisuke. Another jounin of Konoha. Here I find out that he's here in the bar because he's just gotten himself dumped by his girlfriend, Satomi. Name sound familiar journal-kun? Yup, same Satomi. Well somewhere along the line, Daisuke passed out, so Atsuro and I spent some time chatting.
Anyways… I've gotta go talk to Satomi now. In my experience, often when one party is hurting this bad, the other is probably living it up at their expense. If Daisuke's hurting this bad, Satomi's probably throwing a party, and someone needs to give her a talking to.
God I hope I'm wrong about that.

Well… I was wrong.
I found Satomi earlier today, and she was a wreck. She's actually passed out over here right now. Ayame's insisting that we not leave her side until morning, which… honestly I wasn't going to be here all night, but I was planning to keep tabs on her. Anyways, when I found her she was exhausted, clearly had been going through some selfe destructive mode, and… well, I think she's honestly reggretting breaking up with Daisuke. When she wakes up in the morning, I'm going to try and talk to her, and help these two sort all this out.

Well now I probably come off as a stalker. Last time I listen to Ayame's advice. So I was there when Satomi woke up, and well, after the night before I was honestly worried about her well being. And after a minute or two, she just gets up, and runs off. Seriously, does no one get the concept of being a genuinely helpful, good natured person?
I think I'm going to leave Konoha for a while. Let my apparent stalker reputation die down a bit.

So… Naru came to me with a proposition… she asked me to help her quash a rebellion in the land of Fire. I agreed. I'm going to be, along with a small team of her choosing, going along, and joining the true fire movement, and 'convincing' the Daimyo to step down, or atleast change the way he's leading the people, while also diverting the TFM's attention from Konoha, their other target. Well… not alot of time to get my head completely on straight, but I'll survive this little challenge. Either way. I promised I'd never write anything false from my perspective in you journal-kun. But if anyone from the TFM found you, and read you, I'd not be able to explain it away. It would put the mission in danger. So I'm hiding you for now. I'll see you in a month or three.

So I've finally figured out where we're going to go from here. You remember Sunagakure right? Well we're going there. I bumped into Itami during some time to myself, and well, I've decided that I'm going to help her out with some things back in Sunagakure. She's been feeling really disconnected from her people now that she's stopped traveling, and well, I want to help her reconnect with them. I want to help her get back to a point where she's going to be comfortable living in her own home again. Who knows? Maybe I might decide to be a permanent resident? (I doubt it, but maybe, right?)

Either way, I'm looking forward to being able to spend some time with my good friend on a more regular basis. I'm really hoping that I can help this place out, as much as they've helped me. Anyways, for now, I need to get ready for the trip! Which means plenty of water, and clothes to keep the sun off. Anyways, I'll write again when I get there.

Hey Journal-kun! Well, I just arrived in Sunagakure. I'll be honest, I've been looking forward to getting to see Itami again. Unfortuantely, it seems like I've come at a really bad time. She's sick! The sniffles have gotten to her! Apparently a trip up to Kumo during the winter, when you're used to the desert heat can really wreak havvoc on your body! Well, either way, I'll be here for a little while, helping her recover. Ayame and I have been really enjoying the weather. Thanks to it being in the desert, we're not freezing our buns off in the middle of winter! Granted, the nights are horrible, but still! Anyways, it's getting dark. I'll see you soon Journal-kun!

Hey Journal Kun! Met a few new people wen I went to the village center today! A pair of girls, twins actually! They fell in love with Ayame at first sight! Lucky little pup… anyways, they called themselves the ryousha twins. Gonna have to remember the name. Then there was this other guy there. Some guy calling himself Stealth. Seemed creeper-y as all shit. But meh, couldn't have been two bad. The twins were -all over- him. Gonna have to see about seeing how he does it. Personal note: Ask him for dating advice… actually, scratch that. Nevermind.

Hey Journal-kun. So yeah… I finally got to meet another of Suna's council members… guy named Kuoroke. A real piece of work that one. xenophobic jackass. Seriously, he was accusing my of being a spy, and a credible threat to Sunagakure! I've never been a threat to anyone! Ok… scratch that. I've never been a credible threat to any organization… wait… I've never been a… I'm going to stop trying here. I've never been a threat to any of the villages, whether they've shown me kindness or not. Guy seriously rubs me the wrong way. But luckily I don't have to deal with him for too much longer. I am leaving here in a few days.

Hey Journal-kun. So Itami's over her cold, and I've got some traveling to do. Need to head back down to the kitsune temple in the land of hot water, which means, I'll be traveling through Konoha! Means I get to talk to Atsuro for the first time in forever! Which will be fun! Anyways! I'll write as soon as I find a place to bunk in konoha. Ok?

So yeah… um… journal Kun… I think I might have just been adopted into the Inuzuka clan? I mean… I'm not entirely sure what's going on there… but I met Taiki, a good buddy of Atsuro's… and well, turns out he's the clans head. Ayame made a crack about me needing to be adopted into the clan and well… seems like as soon as Atsuro gives me the go ahead… I'm in. This is… actually a bit of a head scratcher. I mean, for the first time in so long, I'd have a family! I'd have a home! But… I've been traveling for almost a decade now. My entire adolescant and adult life. Could I really just give it all up just like that? Anyways… I have some thinking to do.

Hey Journal-kun. So I know I havn't written anything in like… 3 months. I've been a bit busy. Been tracking down more Kitsune temples, and otherwise just enjoying exploring. Anyways… so I'm back in Konoha for a little while… and I'll be honest. The strangest thing happened. I met this woman… her name is Kazuo. And well… We met, we talked, we went out on a date… and… I think I might have a recurring date on my hands. It's… been an odd couple days though, and I might be mixing signals. But I am looking forward to the next time she and I can go out on a date.

Hey Journal-kun. Busy couple of weeks, I know. There was the Chuunin exams, there was the dates with Kazuo-chan, there was so much going on, and I've barely had any time to write about any of it! So much to do, so little time! But luckily, I've finally got some free time now. So Ayame and I have been looking into the last few Kitsune temples on the continent. Looks like there's 3 left that we need to check out. One in the Land of Lightning, one in the Land of Fire, and one in the Land of Waves. Now here's the kicker. two of them were made by the Nogitsune. So they'll be TONS of fun. Oh! And I met up with Rise, and Kynshin for the first time since I ran into them at Jump headquarters. (God that name sucks) looks like they're willing to help me with the temple in the Land of Lightning. So there's that!

Hey Journal-kun. So I just left Konoha behind, and I'm heading into Kumogakure. I'll be staying there for a couple weeks while I do the final resaerch, and get Rise and Kynshin together for the run on this temple… and well… I'm already kindof… missing Konoha. So I've been talking it over with Ayame… and well… honestly… I think next time I come to Konoha… I'll be staying. WE… will be staying. I've come to realize that everyone I -really- care about is in Konoha. And I think that it would probably be best for me to find a place, and settle down. I think it would help with my instability alot to have a stable place to call home, and a real place to lay my head at night. God… this will be the first time in almost a decade that I will have a home. I hope I can make this work.

Hi Journal-kun. So… apparently I've already pissed off the Raikage, and I've only been around for a few hours! Well, otherwise, Kumogakure is a beautifull place, and they've even got a young puppeteer here. He seems to be pretty far along for his age. I'm not sure if It's my place to, but I'm looking forward to atleast seeing what he can do, and maybe giving him a few pointers. The people here are awesome, even IF the Raikage seems to rely solely on his title. But I suppose I've only met him once, and he's not been a -complete- ass hole. So there's that going for him.

Hey Journal-kun! So… I was out in the Land of Lightning, doing some searching around for some Kitsune temples, right? Well… I went hunting for another Kitsune temple, and well… me and the team with me found Kugai guarding the place. You remember him, yeah? The Nogitsune that was holding Ayame against her will? Yeah… he almost killed me… again. That sucked. Luckily I had Rise and Kynshin there to help me out. Between those two, and Ayame, they saved my ass pretty readily. I'm never gonna hear the end of this from the pup.

Hey Journal-Kun~ Ended up staying in the hospital up there for a full week. That -really- sucked. But hey, gave me an excuse to stick around Kumo for a while longer. It was fun, so I can't really complain too much. Didn't run into Mr. swordpants Raikage, so I mean, I can't really complain. Managed to meet a few interesting folks, but otherwise, everything was rather quiet. So yeah… Land of Lightning temple… Nogitsune made. It kinda sucked. Too many traps, and having Kugai as the guard… that was just a dick move, you know? Anyways. So everyone survived, and I'm headed back to Konoha now.

So… I've talked to Tobiramako about joining Konoha on a permanent basis. Well… It seems that as soon as I am able to, I will have a place here. That's… actually alot more relieving than you might think. This is actually the second time I've tried to join Konoha? The last time I had to turn the headband back in, simply because of the old Stump situation. Anyways… so Two temples left. One is solidly in the land of Fire. The other in the Land of Waves. Land of Waves one is gonna be my last stop, before I start settling into Konoha.

So! Journal-kun! It's official! I have an apartment in Konoha! I also have a part time job! I'm working out in the Weapons shop in the eastern part of the village~ I'm helping the old guy there with the forging. Plus I can use the forge whenever I need! (Spare parts for this arm don't make themselves, you know!)

So the Chuunin exams are in Kumo this year! And I'm here working on my Mettalurgy, and selling some wares. Obviously nothing better than standard metals really, but still. Either way, Today I got to spar with an old aquaintance of mine. You remember Rise right? Well… she kicked my ass today. She nailed Ayame with a Genjutsu, and the poor pup paniced and poofed. I lost it again, and Rise just stomped my ass. It was a pretty stark reminder of where I sit. Luckily there were some good medics on sight and I didn't need to spend -too- much time in the hospital. But it was still frustrating. More than a bit depressing. But jsut means I need to move forward.

I just woke up in the hospital. I came back to Konoha to get some wares expecting to be able to run back pretty quick, but as it turns out, I ran into Naru, and she wanted to spar. She put a hole in my chest. That was… not fun. Second massive loss in a spar in a week, and now I'm out of commission. Apparently Ayame had an adventure while I was out cold, though. So I'm going to let her write the next entry.

It's Ayame! It's hard writing these so I'm going to make Soren re-write this later! So when I showed up at the village, Soren was gone and I was having trouble finding him. But I met this really awesome little girl named Ikari! She was nice, and sweet, and helped me track him down at this pital place. She was really nice. So Soren and I are going to visit her when he gets better!

So I got to go on my first mission in FOREVER earlier this week! Kenta, Michiko, and a girl named Naruko and myself were sent out to deal with some bandits in the Land of Hot Water. It was nice to get away from the forge for once, even if I did get buried upto my neck and stuck there for the entire fight. But still! I look forward to the chance to get out and do more missions with people. Really gotta get out and get more done. I think I'm going to start adjusting my schedule at the weapon shop to make it more feasable to take on some missions. Maybe get back into a heavier training rythym to boot. Honestly, really looking forward to things for the first time in a long time.

So the Nogi clan attacked the Myo tribe again. Ayame had to take several pups and get them to safety. In this case, the safest place she could think of was with me in Konoha. Unfortunately, she summoned herself and them in the middle of a visit from Michiko. It was… frustrating. I mean it wasn't bad enough that she just popped in completely unnanounced with a bunch of pups, I was in the middle of my shift at the weapons shop. I'mma have to clean that up later! Plus there's this Kimura fox that she brought with her. That fox just strikes me as off. But maybe it's just the kits attitude. Too proud of herself to accept help when she needs it, and too blinded by that pride to see the worth in being kind to others. But Michiko seems to have taken a liking to her… so maybe she isn't all bad. We'll see.

So… I don't know how to say this without making myself out to be an ass… but… here goes. I think I was wrong about Kimura. She seems to have lightened up a bit around Michiko. I mean, it took Michiko beating her in a spar to get her to do it… but… I dunno. Maybe a nice crack to that all important pride of hers is exactly what she needs to get motivated to improve. Michiko decided she wants to be partnered up with the kit… which means I get to go convince the Elders that it's a good idea. I'm still not so sure about it. Kimura's got a temper… a violent temper. I'm not sure if Michiko will be all right with this on her own. But we shall see, and hopefully those two will grow closer as time continues. I'm really looking forward to seeing if Kimura actually grows from this.

So some good news, some great news, some horrible news, and some fantastic news. Good news, I talked to the elders and they didn't immediately throw out Michiko's plan! Some great news; Akane's back in the land of fire! Horrible news: I think she might be in trouble. Some fantastic news: she doesn't live in Konoha, and actually lives near one of my normal routes, so I'll get to visit my friend again soon! Oh! And she's a mother! Both adopted and otherwise! I met Kit, her ward, but I haven't had the chance to meet the other children yet, or the husband. I have met him previously. You remember Ishino, right? Did I ever write about him? I know I met him once… briefly. He was one of 3 or 4 people that didn't immediately threaten me in Kirigakure. Really fashionable too. Liked his suit. Never figured her the type to go for the well dressed. Maybe I should invest in a suit? Maybe I should invest in a new sword for Ishino. Maybe I should do alot of things.

So some more good news. I took Michiko to meet the elders. As usual, Genkoro was against it until he actually met the girl. Michiko honestly impressed me. She has always been kind and warm towards Ayame, and after a glowing testimony on her behalf from myself -and- Ayame, the decision was made to allow her to be Kimura's guardian, much the same way as I am Ayame's. I can only hope that she continues to impress the elders as she has me. I'm genuinely proud of the girl. I think one day she will make a fantastic sage. She can -never- find out I said this. Also, at some point soon, I will have to meet with the elders again. Nothing like being cryptic, eh journal-kun?

I'm not exactly good at writing while I'm this angry… but I'll try to keep things under control. We found an older Uzumaki stumbling into the village one day, and he had some information for us. Taiki's been captured by the Recluse. He's currently being tortured, and there's not a damn thing to do until this guy regains enough strength to take us back to him. I can only hope that it's soon enough to actually save Taiki.

So… I find myself in a strange position. It's become obvious that Taiki has been captured by someone, we assume the Recluse… but I'm not really able to help right now. I mean… honestly, I'm furious. I am. But… the realization came to me that I'm not going to be much help to them. Not as I am now. Not when they have the likes of Daisuke, and Atsuro, and heck, even Takeo now. Takeo's been getting strong fast, hasn't he? I mean, wow. To think of just how much he has been through in such a short time… even with Daisuke's guidance, that's still impressive. So I suppose… I'll do the only thing I really can do. I'll keep working. I'll improve on the things I am good at, and hopefully, I'll get to the point where I can support them in my own way. But for now… Taiki's best chance hinges on them being able to move and act without me being there to drag them down. So he's got my best prayers… but looks like I'm sitting this one out.

Taiki's been retrieved, but Nozomi, Shinobu, and he were beaten to hell. He still hasn't woken up, but atleast he's back in the village and safe. I can't imagine he's been well. All of this even more is just hammering home that the Recluse needs to be dealt with. I'm going to have to have a long conversation with Taiki and possibly Atsuro too about this. This is getting ridiculous, and while I might not be as able to scrap as Taiki or Atsuro, I could still do -something-.

People that I care about are justting beaten to hell left and right this month. Akane's apparently been in really bad condition, and stuck in the Kumogakure hospital. I'm taking a shipment out to Kumo tomorrow, and I'm going to take the chance to visit. Honestly… I'm having alot of problems keeping my anger subdued. I know it's not often that I have this problem… but with all the reasons to be angry lately… it's really getting to me. Anyways, I really hope Akane's doing ok. Maybe I'll offer to babysit for her if she's not doing well. I know Kit has taken to Ayame really well… so maybe I can do something atleast that small.

Oh god, it's been months. I don't know where to begin on the things that have happened in the last year and a half, give or take several months. Things aren't super fresh in my mind, but hey, I've gotta keep this written down. So here goes.

Let's see… last thing I had written about was Taiki's kidnapping, and the recluse. Well… after a few things happened, Taiki's mentor, who was also captured, managed to escape. He brought with him the information that Taiki was to be executed and the location of the recluse hideout. The immediate response of the clan was to launch a full scale offensive to retrieve the clan alpha. I couldn't participate, but I hear that the event was something to be passed down through the ages. We retrieved Taiki, and all was better.

The following months held major conoflicts between the Inuzuka and the Recluse. Kumogakure was also eventually drawn into the battles aswell. After distinguishing performances on all sides, the combat eventually came to an end, with the defeat of the recluse.

After the battles with the Recluse… I was feeling more useless than ever. I was training myself until I bled, passed out, or both. I was over working myself, and trying to hammer out all that rage that I hadn't been able to deal with. To be honest, I wasn't in a great place. Then I met Yuuki.

I had just finished beating myself to nearly the point of passing out, when Yuuki and I met. I was hurting, both emotionally and physically, and Yuuki in her own way, made it clear she wanted to talk. So as I was packing up, we got to talking, and well… things went well. I kissed her that first night, and while that was probably the single dumbest thing I've done in this relationship, it worked out for the best. To be fair, if I wasn't already guilt tripping myself over the whole recluse thing, I probably wouldn't have done it, and Yuuki and I wouldn't have ended up together, but hey. Mysterious ways, am I right?

Now I know, I know, I've written about being in love, and being happy, and all this crap before. 'no you don't get it' you cry, 'you're just being a romantic goofball again!' you continue, but hey, I'm happy this time, ok? Yuuki and I actually have good chemistry beyond just sex, or crushing on each other. I've… come to learn that each time you think you're in love it feels different. An odd thing to realize, and well, I'm not sure how much I want to give away on a single page. Yuuki hasn't just been someone I've shared my time with. I've shared my past with her, and my goals for the future. Ayame has welcomed her as a family member aswell. It took me a while to really open up to her… but she's caring, and strong, and even as fucked up as the place she came from is, she's still come out a beautiful person. Just to be clear, I don't mean physically beautiful, although she is absolutely drop dead gorgeous… I mean really, absolutely beautiful. But! What I mean, is she's a wonderful person to be around, and so far, it's been nothing but good for me to be around her.

Although… I still think Ayame or one of the foxes pulled some genjutsu shennanigans or something on that first night.

OK. Lets see. Continuing with the theme of catching up on the past, lets move on. So I met Yuuki… and she and I hit it off. Life did a wonderful job of of throwing a wrench into the works on all accounts. When I really started to find out more about her family, I had to stop myself from going to the Hyuuga Village and causing an inter-clan incident. She calmed me down though… convinced me to leave them be for the time being. It's still saddens me to see someone so sweet, and caring treated like garbage though. Luckily, I can make sure she won't be, and have taken steps to make sure she'll be cared for.

By now, I'm guessing you've noticed. I'm writing right handed again. I'm getting to that in a bit. So anyways, after my emotional state balanced out, I went out to the fox village to speak with the elders on a couple things. Some events happened. A combat sprung up when some of the Nogi tribe decided to pummel the fun. We dealt with it. You know, standard raucous.

About a week later though, the elders called me back to the village, something serious to talk to me about. Personally, I thought at the time they were just standing on ceremony, and making a huge bluster about the whole thing, But! I was wrong! They did have something actually serious to talk to me about. After a brief talk, they had decided to make me the new Sage of the Kitsu fox tribe. I started my training about a week later, after having some things put into order. Then I dissapeared for 6 months.

(This page is a wreck. Large swaths scratched out, and written over. It seems he's conflicted over what to say here)

Journal-kun,

Scribbles
I just want you to know.More Scribbles
Those six months.EVEN MORE SCRIBBLES
were BOOOOOOOOORRRRRRIIIIIIIIIING

I sat. In a puddle. for 3 months. 3 MONTHS. Then I had to do it again, while EATING MOSS for another 2 and a half! Anyways! Not the important bit! I managed to get the hang of channeling scribbled out furiously
Shit, I'm out of page.

So here's the thing. That energy I can channel? It's a bitch. It was pooling up in my scar tissue. You know, all that crap that I have building up everywhere? The crap that Mushi was pretty sure would kill me by 30 if I kept going the way I was? Yeah. It was killing me alot quicker.

Anyways, chakra pooling up in my scar tissue was a problem I was aware of before, but I didn't realize it would have such an overt effect because of this technique. I was literally turning myself to stone. But Taiki, luckily enough, is a GOD DAMN WIZARD. Seriously, he not only managed to completely reconstruct my right arm (Told you I'd get to that) but he managed to reverse the scar tissue in my body almost entirely. I had to get my tattoos redone, ofcourse, but otherwise, there's not a really big deal. I've considered trying to use this technique to my advantage for a few things, but I'm not sure I want to risk the experimentation required to master that.

Lets see. Where did we leave off? Oh right, I had just gotten Taiki to reverse the scar tissue developing all over. Well, we managed to get the scar tissues delt with. After that, I went back to training with the foxes, but that only took a couple weeks to finish my mastery of the technique completely. But most importantly, I got to stay in Konoha while we did it. It was a bit frustrating mind you. Oh right, Yuuki had a Fiance, some schmuck that her clan arranged for her to marry. That was a whole mess. Actually, you know what? I screwed up. Let me tell the story starting from when I got back from Konoha.

So lets see. When I got back to Konoha, Emi and her father began working with Taiki on treatments. In the mean time though, while they were preparing for the proceadures, I went to find Yuuki. When I found her, it almost broke my heart. She was pale, almost looked like she was malnourished, and hadn't been sleeping well. When I tried to talk to her, she sounded heartbroken. While I talked to her… she explained that during my absence, the Hyuuga Clan had arranged a marriage. Normally… If the clan did not approve, I'd be seeking to find some way to make amends, to improve my relationship with the clan so that I would be allowed to court her.

But they had made it a point to put Yuuki in horrible situations. In this particular instance, I'm not sure if they were actually at fault… but her new fiance was abusive. I saw as much when he tried to tear her away. When he bruised her arm.

I summoned Ayame, and she returned the favor by nearly tearing his arm off… but because of the scribbled bit because of the chakra poisoning, I had to be rushed to the hospital.

Anyways, so Yuuki got me to the hospital. Between the Inuzuka guards, and the regular hospital staff, Yuuki and I were pretty safe there. So I explained to her most of what was going on, and she took it well…ish. After that Taiki performed the procedure, and poof! I'm a right handed spanker again!

That said, the recovery time was still a pain. While I was 'healed' before the procedure was fully completed, it they still kept me in the hospital for several days just to ensure there were no after affects. But once it was done, everything was right with the world!

Over the next couple months, after the procedure, and my Sage training, Yuuki and I moved in together in the Inuzuka Compound. It didn't really take us long to get settled. And for a while, Life was good.

But her, at this point 'Ex', kept poking his head around. Whenever Yuuki would leave the Inuzuka compound alone, he'd find her, and leave her with new bruises. He'd try to forcibly drag her back to the Hyuuga Village. It still makes me angry thinking about it. We still have no idea how he was tracking her, although, the assumption could be made that the Byakugan is awesome.

Either way, Journal-kun. I'll get back to you soon. I need to watch the kits soon, and they never let me sit still long enough to write. I'll finish up the story in the coming weeks, ok?